Would you mind text ads?

Would anybody mind if I were to add Google AdSense in the right margin of this forum? It would be text-only ads, placed in a narrow column along the right side of the screen, concerning "related" stuff. If implemented (and used), it would help fund this website. Vote if you care. Nay-sayers please share your objections.

Last edited by TorbenGB on 17 Jan 2007, 23:54, edited 1 time in total.

Is this all about retribution for people in charge at managing the site

I will delay my vote until I have an idea of what are the goods for the community to be expected from Google "AdVices".

I prefer asking Google when I need to. I don't care letting it enter by the toilet room window when I am occupied at something it don't give a shit. Unsolicited information is just crap or a kind of drug when you turn into a mouse-click addict. I'd rather go StumbleUpon at these times.

I would say that the value of this site is quite out of the money universe (kind of Star Trek utopia). I am one of the growing fewer who think that money can't buy things that really matter, like friendship and health.

$ I still fail to see what good could be expected at letting Google take part of this tiny community.

€ This is my own and single opinion and I will observe what others have to say on the subject before I vote.

I would mind because I am a super-high resolution "my desktop real-estate is MINE" kinda guy, but If it makes the difference between site or no site, then it has to be done. I might actually stop visiting due to mouseover ads or ads that make sound, but making posts longer (because they aren't as wide) would bother me. Another option I dislike is the software that throws links onto specific words on a page (like tomshardware.com used to have), especially when the ad is for a different word that is spelled the same, but at least those ads don't take up additional desktop real-estate. What about ads-by-google at the bottom of the pages? I could definitely deal with that as long as there weren't I-frames or whatever containing forum topics (I'm not a fan of scrolling in a smaller area in addition to scrolling the whole page). Even near the top would be better than the side in my opinion, because then I can scroll past them and they don't cramp the width of the topics all the way down the page.

The00Dustin wrote:I might actually stop visiting due to mouseover ads or ads that make sound, but making posts longer (because they aren't as wide) would bother me.

Okay, I was only talking about text-only ads, because anything else bugs me too. I understand your dislike about all those other noisy kinds of ads, and you can be sure that I wouldn't dream of putting them here.

It's a good idea to use a flat area rather than high, and putting it at the end of a page makes it easy to ignore (just don't scroll all down )

ivanw wrote:Is this all about retribution for people in charge at managing the site

I would really like to know what you mean by retribution against the management? The idea is to gather a few cents to help pay for the hosting. If you'd rather donate than see ads, <a href="http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=343">you can.</a>

ivanw wrote:I will delay my vote until I have an idea of what are the goods for the community to be expected

Google for "Fingerworks" or "fingerfans" or other terms discussed here; that's the kind of words you'd see in these text-only ads.

ivanw wrote:letting it enter by the toilet room window ... crap or a kind of drug when you turn into a mouse-click addict.

Ivan, this is not your usual tone, so I'll not reply to it. It must have hit a sore spot. I'm glad I asked this question to the forum so I can hear your reactions and not simply violate you -- you're the reason this site exists, so of course you have a say.

ivanw wrote:money can't buy things that really matter, like friendship and health. I still fail to see what good could be expected at letting Google take part of this tiny community.

As they say, "the most important things in life aren't things". Even so, hosting this site still needs to be paid as long as it exists, whether it really matters or not.

As I would not care being alone at looking for some ideally clean site...

I would not be satisfied either to know that you have to spend your own money or beg a free hosting for this site.

I would rather donate if you could tell what would be necessary to provide for what it may have already cost till now and what would be the annual fee.

Is it possible for you to report on what's inside the donation box so as we can know whether we have reached the expected amount or if someone has to put some more to keep Google outside? Therefore, I will be able to put a price on my "ideally clean site" ...and it could be I opt for Google as I may have a better place for my money

BTW, my tone was not on fighting mode, that was just one more vendetta of mine against our money world.

TorbenGB wrote:I would really like to know what you mean by retribution against the management? The idea is to gather a few cents to help pay for the hosting. If you'd rather donate than see ads, <a href="http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=343">you can.</a>

My great mistake, the English flavor of the word "retribution" is a trap for a french native. The very same spelling means "compensation" before you put the English flag on top...

ivanw wrote:the English flavor of the word "retribution" is a trap for a french native. The very same spelling means "compensation"

I can see how that can be difficult. I'm glad that was all you meant by it.

To be specific, I pay around $10 per month for my hosting, and I should note that the hosting covers both fingerfans and my personal webspace. I can probably look up the amount of donations at any given time, and calculate the difference between donations and requirements. I can't automate that, so it's also difficult to make it publicly viewable, though that would be a tremendous idea.

I started this thread to see what kind of reaction there would be to advertisements. I thought it might be a simple way to fund some of the hosting, but not getting this funding does not threaten the life of this website. I wouldn't expect many clicks anyway, and there are not all that many page views to begin with, so there would probably not be much profit anyway.

As long as it's not those frakking random linked text ads that have starting showing up in various sites, I don't mind Google text ads. I would be all for putting them at the bottom of each thread/page, instead of on the side.

The00Dustin wrote:I might actually stop visiting due to mouseover ads or ads that make sound, but making posts longer (because they aren't as wide) would bother me.

Okay, I was only talking about text-only ads, because anything else bugs me too. I understand your dislike about all those other noisy kinds of ads, and you can be sure that I wouldn't dream of putting them here.

It's a good idea to use a flat area rather than high, and putting it at the end of a page makes it easy to ignore (just don't scroll all down )

I was just mentioning what drives me away from sites for future reference. I chose they would bother me because ads are always a bother, even though they are a part of everyday life. I didn't mean for you to think that I expected them. I also didn't mean for you to think I would hold it against you either, just that I would be bothered, as is life. Even toward the top of the page they wouldn't irritate me, so long as they didn't do anything interactive (other than the obvious typical mouseover text) or change functionality of the page in any way (for instance, changing the topic view section to function similar to the way the topic review section (when replying to a post) currently does, preventing escape from the ads (and full use of desktop real-estate)). =)

I have not forgotten the above post. Right now you do see ads, but they are at the bottom of the page and text-only. This is a test that I am doing, to see what kind of exposure this gets, if any at all. If you have comments about this, please let me know in a kind way by posting here.

As I've noted earlier, this site is hosted along with other sites I own, so there are no actual costs of hosting this site. But there are costs for the hosting overall, of course. Whether these ads will earn anything at all is something I can only answer after this has been running for a while. If it's pointless, then the ads will be removed again, of course.